Gery Barker wrote sometime back. "There is no better, the three are just different. I have driven teams of all three. Horses are steadier under fire. That is why in the Civil War the Artillery and Cavalry relied on horses. A mule never loses its instinct for self preservation. Mules, however, have more stamina, and are hardier, easier to keep and more disease resistant. A mule is slower to mature, you usually cannot get much out of a mule before the age of five, but they live longer. Oxen are stronger, but slow. Think tractor, not truck. They are steady, and easy keepers, my oxen eat half of what a Belgian or Percheron of the same size would eat."